Our Fitness Blog

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and fitness and nutrition play a very important role in terms of reducing one's risk for cancer. In addition, fitness and nutrition play a key role in helping those recover following cancer treatment. When it comes to body composition, maintaining a healthy weight (and we can take this a step further and call it a healthy body fat %) can help to lower the risk of a first-time breast cancer as well as reduce the risk of recurrence. Studies have shown that individuals who gain weight following a breast cancer diagnosis have a higher risk of recurrence. In addition, studies have also shown that women who are overweight, as compared to women at a healthy weight, have an increased risk of breast cancer after menopause.

When it comes to maintaining a low body fat %, nutrition is going to be one of the main keys to success. No doubt, exercise (which we will discuss later on) is very important, but one’s body composition is all going to come down to nutrition. No matter how much we workout, we cannot out work improper nutrition. Endurance sports are a perfect example of how high-volume workouts does not always correlate with a lean & light physique. Let's look at sports like the marathon and long distance triathlon (1.2-mile swim-112-mile bike-26.2 mile run). Individuals that properly prepare for such events are super-committed to their training. They put in big miles; 18-20+ mile runs, 100+ mile bike rides, 5000m+ swim sessions, etc. These individuals can easily rack up 15-20+ hours of workouts in a week. You would think that this volume of workouts would always lead to amazing physiques, but it does not. A large majority of these individuals are overweight and obese despite this high volume of workouts; why is this? Well, one of the main reasons is improper nutrition. Remember, we cannot outwork improper nutrition. And this is where 9Round Nutrition becomes a key to unlock the door to body transformation. Not only is 9Round Nutrition healthy, but it is Eating Right. And when we eat right, our fueling timing, fueling frequency and macronutrient balance is spot-on and this is what will keep the body properly fueled and help assist with body composition change.

When we combine eating right with the right type of exercise, now we have a winning 1-2 combination. Research shows that regular exercise can help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer as well as reducing the risk of recurrence. In 2010, ACSM concluded that exercise during and after breast cancer treatments is safe and can help to improve quality of life as well as help breast cancer survivors live longer. A combination of strength training and aerobic exercise is ideal for keeping the body strong and healthy. Working out smart and in the proper heart rate zones (aerobic heart rate zones) will be key.

Your 9Round workout has a great mix of strength work and aerobic work. Exercises like push up, squat, medicine ball work, dumbbell work, kettle bell work, jump squat, sit ups, heavy bag work, etc., are great strength and resistance exercises that you will perform during the 9Round workout. It is exercises like these that help to build strength and muscle. And, when we build muscle (and eat right), we are going to set the body up for body composition success and this will help lead to a leaner, healthier physique. In addition to the great strength/resistance work, working out in the proper heart rate zones will be a key element. When using the 9Round heart rate training system, the goal is to stay in the Green & Yellow heart rate zones. This will keep us in the aerobic heart rate zones and will help to maximize fat burning, increase overall workout productivity and improve recovery. Let’s combine great nutrition with great workouts and our health and fitness journey will be nothing shy of amazing!

This year’s 9Round Kick Event will take place on Thursday, October 13th. Each year, participating 9Round locations donate one cent for every kick made during our Kick Event to support Breast Cancer Research and Cure foundations. The workout that day will be all about kicks and every kick counts!

Last year, we outkicked our goal of seven million kicks, achieving an astounding 10.5 million kicks and we were able to donate $105,000 to support Breast Cancer awareness. This year, we’re raising the bar by setting our goal at 20 million kicks! Help us reach our goal of donating $200,000 by getting to your local 9Round on October 13th.

Be sure to bring all of your friends to help out this amazing cause! Their kicks count, too!